Snape paced silently, frowning as he stood in the antechamber off of the Great Hall as he waited for that idiot Lockhart. Lucius and he had searched practically a month and a week for that damn diary and found nothing. Well, that was to say they found nothing of use. He turned on his heel once more, heading back towards the door.

It didn't make sense. Lucius just happening to find a dark object and passing it onto a Weasley? He turned sharply again, returning the way he came. Lucius wouldn't have risked putting his son in danger. So, then Lucius couldn't have known it was a dark object. That led to more questions, however. Like, for example, how could Lucius—known for recognizing dark objects—not realize the dangers this object possessed?

Snape halted instantly. Lucius had admitted to speaking with the Dark Lord, though. Lying to the Dark Lord, in fact, about Harry's mother. Snape's eyes narrowed as he replayed that conversation in his head. Aurora's reactions were as if Lucius had revealed a secret of hers, something in her past she didn't want known. So what if she had been admitted the same time Lily had been giving birth to Harry? That didn't mean anything truly. It could easily be explained as her having surgery the same time or something else. But then, why did she become so enraged by Lucius's revelation?

Aurora was right. Lucius had no right to lie to the Dark Lord and tell him that Aurora was Harry's mother. It put her in danger now. But her reactions weren't consistent with protecting herself, though. It was something else.

In July of 1980, Aurora would have just been entering her second year of university, nineteen by his estimate in fact. He frowned, still pacing back and forth in the antechamber. She would likely be at Windsor for the summer holiday. He then sighed heavily. It really wasn't any of his business why she had become so upset over Lucius's revelations. If she wanted Snape to know, she would tell him.

"Ah. There you are, Severus," McGonagall announced, walking into the antechamber briskly.

"Indeed. What may I do for you, Minerva?"

"Have you gathered the names of Slytherins who are staying for the Christmas break yet?"

"I have. You should already have them by owl, in fact. I sent them last week."

"Ah. Good." She forced a smile. "I will admit, Severus, I had thought with your father being here, Harry would be joining you two for the holidays."

His eyes narrowed in puzzlement. "I'm afraid I'm not following you, Minerva."

"Harry. He stated that he was remaining behind with his friends."

"Granger and Weasley?" Snape asked softly.

"The very same," she replied with a sharp nod. "Was Mr. Potter mistaken?"

"He was." Snape kept his features masked. If he found out his son was still on his finding the Heir of Slytherin kick, his son would find himself sorely punished later. "Remove him from your list, Minerva. He will not be spending his holidays here." He caught her curt nod.

"Shall I inform him, then?"

"There's no need." Snape smiled thinly. "It'll be a surprise." One that the boy wouldn't know until the very last moment, in fact, if Snape had anything to say about it.

"Of course." She turned to leave, smiling when the door opened a moment later to reveal Madam Pomfrey. "He's all yours, Poppy." McGonagall left soon after.

"If you are here to lecture me about—"

"No, Severus. I'm not," the matron said with a sigh. "Actually, I've just received the information you requested awhile back. About Project Unicorn?"

Snape felt the sudden stimulation at her words. "Go on."

"Well, there's honestly not much to go on, I'm afraid, Severus. Most of the files have strangely disappeared from there and from the Ministry. My contact believes that someone has gone to great lengths to hide this information. The only thing he could find about it was this." She held up a manila envelope. "It's the cover page, Severus." She sighed, handing it over to him. "I'm sorry we couldn't find more. However, it seems that whatever this project is, no one wants others to know about it. My contact stated that it seemed like a lot of people were spooked by his inquires."

Snape nodded slowly, grabbing the envelope. He inclined his head to her before she left, leaving him alone with the envelope. Not wasting any time, he opened it, pulling out the page and closing his eyes. Pomfrey had meant it when she said there wasn't much to go off.

Project Unicorn

Funded by the Ministry of Magic

Implemented at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

Healer-in-charge: Syra Ophelia

Assistant: Leonidas Montgomery

He slipped the paper back into the envelope a moment later. A mystery for another day. He frowned, tapping his foot silently as he glared at the door leading to the Great Hall. Where was that bumbling idiot anyway? He snorted when a tiny voice in his mind snidely suggested that Lockhart likely had locked himself in the bathroom again. They could only be so lucky.

When the door opened with a flourish several minutes later, Snape masked his features to keep the disappointment from his face at the sight of Lockhart gliding into the room. Crossing his arms, Snape drew in a slow breath. He hated tardiness, but most of all he hated Lockhart right now.

"My good chap, there you are." Lockhart chuckled loudly. "Hiding out in here will curry no favors with me, Professor Snape, I assure you."

"Shall we?" Snape replied sharply, just barely keeping the hissing from his voice. Merlin, he hated that man.

"Of course. Of course." The man's eyes darted about the room, however.

"Is something the matter, Lockhart?"

"Hmm? Oh no. Of course not, Professor." Lockhart gave an awkward laugh before he headed for the door. Once they stepped out into the Great Hall, Lockhart once more stopped and glanced about the room. He was searching for someone clearly.

"If you are concerned about—"

"Of course not." Lockhart laughed nervously again, glancing at Snape. He forced a polite smile on his face before he leaned in towards Snape's ear. "If you must know, I'm looking for our lovely Aurora. I was hoping for a good luck kiss, you know?"

Ignoring his first urge to punch the man, Snape settled on snorting. The act of perfect neutrality was one of his many gifts after all. He caught Lockhart's eyes narrowing.

"Professor Sinistra rarely leaves her tower on clear nights, Lockhart. Therefore, I doubt she'd bother herself with attending. It's rare that she tears herself long enough from her stars to be around us lesser beings," Snape drawled. There was a half-truth to his statements. She did dislike tearing herself from her stars.

"Hasn't she been staying with you, however? In light of recent events, I mean."

"No." He knew no one but Harry, Tobias, and Calisto Rayne knew about his relationship with Aurora. They had both decided to be extra careful and keep it a secret.

"Ah. Then, the rumors are wrong?"

"Rumors typically are, Lockhart. Now, unless you wish to delay us further, shall we? Unlike you, I'm quite confident in my abilities and do not need a 'good luck kiss." He turned on his heel a moment later, heading towards the golden stage beneath the bewitched darkened sky. He barely kept his growl back when the bumbling idiot brushed him aside to reach the stage first.

However, the sight of Aurora standing off to the side caused him to forget his annoyance. She had come. She was giving up a night of clear skies to be there for him. He caught her glance towards Lockhart who was being a conceited arse again no doubt before she caught Snape's black eyes. He couldn't help himself as he easily entered her mind.

Hex his arse, love, she thought.

He felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards. He sent her back a simple reply. With pleasure. He turned away, his lip curling as he glared at Lockhart. The bumbling idiot wouldn't know what hit him. Though, Snape did want the students to learn proper dueling so he'd abide by the agreed rules. For now at least.

Lockhart bowed with as much flamboyance as he could, which only served to piss Snape off even more and forced Snape to jerk his head irritably at the idiot. Honestly. Hadn't Lockhart ever been in a proper duel before? Had they been at the height of the war currently, Lockhart would have been murdered the second his pompous arse self did that girly flourish.

Raising his wand in front of his face, Snape stared darkly at Lockhart. At least the idiot could manage to raise his own wand properly. They'd all see soon enough if the bumbling fool's magical prowess, which Snape figured was grossly exaggerated.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart announced to the gathered crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

Snape barely kept the 'oh really' smile from his face. His breathing was slow. His heart beat lightly in his chest. And his eyes kept watch on his prey. This right here was why he had agreed to the blasted duel in the first place. For this one moment, this one chance to put Lockhart in his rightful place. To show everyone just what sort of complete moron and fraud Gilderoy Lockhart really was.

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent.

After Snape cried, "Expelliarmus!" there was a dazzling flash of scarlet light as Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backwards off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor. Snape looked on in expertly hidden glee. Served the moron right.

At the sound of Lockhart's pronouncement of how so-called 'easy' it was to recognize, Snape felt his temper flare. He glared murderously at the man, wondering why he hadn't casted the Killing Curse on the clear waste of oxygen Lockhart represented. He ignored the annoying voice that answered.

Several minutes later—after all the students were divided up and promptly tried to kill one another—Snape looked on, watching Harry and Draco face each other on the golden stage. He bent down to Draco's ear.

"I suggest whichever spell you are no doubt going to cast instead of disarming my son be a minor annoyance spell only, Mr. Malfoy. Is this understood?" Snape caught Draco's wide smile instantly. "Because if you cast anything dark or damaging, I assure you that your father will be the least of your worries." Snape then stood up straight and stepped aside.

He hated that Draco had to keep up appearances for the sake of his family. The young Slytherin, while clearly arrogant, wasn't similar to Lucius in the least. The boy, after all, had no particular qualms with Muggleborns, rising above the long-standing pureblood beliefs. However, Draco had to maintain an image, just as Snape had to do.

Before the two boys were given the go ahead, Draco struck first. "Serpensortia!" A long black snake shot out of Draco's wand, flying through the air towards Harry before it thumped onto the stage.

Snape frowned inwardly as he looked on neutrally. Summoning a snake was rather mild, he supposed. His brows knit at the sight of Harry standing motionless while the snake slithered towards the young Gryffindor. Was his son scared of snakes?

"Don't move, Potter." Snape slowly walked towards the snake. "I'll get rid of it—"

"Allow me!" Lockhart proudly shouted before sending a spell towards the snake.

Snape watched in silent horror as the black snake sailed through the air before slamming back down onto the stage. What in the hell was Lockhart thinking? He raised his wand to vanish the snake as it rose to strike the young Hufflepuff boy who unluckily stood in front of it. However, before he could cast his spell, he heard loud hissing that clearly wasn't from the now docile snake.

The black eyes snapped to Harry instantly. There were no thoughts in Snape's mind currently. He was too shocked for a moment. He quickly snapped himself out of his rare stupor and sent his spell to banish the snake that lay at his son's feet. He could see on his son's face that Harry didn't understand why Finch-Fletchley had become so angry with him. His eyes narrowed on his son before Weasley and Granger yanked Harry off the stage and away from the crowd. He quickly moved to follow, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Aurora was doing the same.

It didn't make sense. His son, a Parselmouth? Where would he have gotten that gift from? Snape brushed past the likely scared students. He was thankful when he noticed Aurora reach the trio first and instruct them to stop. He felt a chill run down his spine as he approached them. The last person he had heard speak Parseltongue was the Dark Lord to that damn snake of his. It had always given him the creeps if he had to admit it. He joined the four a moment later, glancing pointedly at Granger and Weasley—thankful when the two left without a word—before escorting his son down to the dungeons with Aurora by his side. How in the hell were they supposed to handle this surprise?

~FKTF~

Inside his dad's rooms now, Harry sat on the sofa, trying to figure out why everyone was acting so serious all of a sudden. Had he done something wrong? He glanced towards his dad, then to his mum. Both adults seemed lost in thought, though, as they stood in front of Harry.

"Is Tobias all right?" Harry asked quietly. He caught their eyes darting to him in confusion.

"He's fine, Harry," his mum replied quietly. "He just went to bed early."

The young Gryffindor nodded slowly. "Then, what is it? Why do you both have the look that someone died?" He noticed his mum glance towards his dad and frowned. "What is it?"

"What did you instruct the snake to do?" his dad asked.

"To leave Justin alone." Harry shrugged. "Didn't you two hear me?"

"I heard you speak Parseltongue, Harry, not English. Snake language in other words."

"Oh." Harry shrugged again, not understanding why that was so unsettling to them. "Loads of people here can speak to snakes, can't they? Like all of Slytherin."

"No, son. It's a rare gift. One that doesn't run in your mother's or in my family."

The young boy's bright green eyes glanced towards his mum, who had made a slight movement in response to his dad's answer. He frowned, watching her walk towards the window to look out.

"So, then, what? Is that bad? That I can speak to snakes?"

"Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth," his dad said softly, "as was the Dark Lord, Harry."

"Oh." He glanced down at his trainers. No wonder they were all looking so serious. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

Harry bit his bottom lip, kicking his heels against the sofa. "Do you think I'm turning dark?"

"No, son. I don't think that at all." His dad sighed, kneeling down before he pulled Harry into his arms. "We'll figure out what it means. All right? You aren't alone, Harry. We're right here with you. You're safe now, son."

With all his heart, Harry believed his dad. He certainly felt safe with them. Safer than he had ever felt before in fact. It was a good feeling, one he hoped lasted forever.

~FKTF~

After Herbology was cancelled because of the blizzard that continued roaring outside the next morning, Harry found himself outside his mum's office door. Had his father not had class right then, he'd have gone to him instead. He pulled his robes tighter around himself, raising his hand to knock. Only the door burst open before he could as a young Gryffindor first-year rushed out, clearly crying. That was Ron's little sister, he thought. He frowned, but walked in a moment later.

His mum sat at her desk with her head in her hands. Hovering by the door for a few seconds, he quietly closed it behind him soon after. Her office was warm, and he knew she'd be upset if he let all the warmth escape.

"Is everything all right, Mum?"

"Harry," she softly said, raising her head ever so slightly to look at him. "Shouldn't you be in class?" Her eyes were narrowed on him in confusion.

"Cancelled because of the snowstorm." He sat down across from her.

"Of course." She rubbed at her temples. Something she had been doing a lot more lately. "So, what brings you here?"

"Ron's playing Wizard's Chess with Hermione, and I'm getting tired of watching her lose." He glanced down at his hands. "And I'm tired of all the looks from people, too. They act like I'm going to hurt them or something now." Harry swallowed. "That's what she was doing here, wasn't she? Telling you that she's worried about her brother being friends with me?"

"No, Harry."

"It's not?"

"No." She pushed herself up to stand. "What do you say to us raiding the kitchens for a snack? I don't know about you, but I'm starved." Her earlier dismay seemed to be vanishing slowly. She smiled faintly when Harry laughed. She waited for him by the fireplace, grabbing the Floo powder. They arrived in the kitchens a moment later. A dozen or so house elves instantly snapped to attention, asking what they could get them.

Harry opened his mouth to answer the house elves, but promptly closed it when he heard the rattling of chains near them. He glanced to his left and watched the Bloody Baron slowly float towards them. His eyes narrowed as he waited silently.

"Severus requests that I escort the both of you to him," the Slytherin ghost stated mournfully. His chains rattled eerily as he hovered in the soft light of the kitchens.

"Did he now?" Harry's mum replied with a slight frown. "And did he say why exactly?" At the sight of the Baron shaking his head, she scoffed. "Of course he didn't."

"I believe it is urgent, however."

Harry glanced towards his mum, noticing her brows knitting in confusion. The Bloody Baron held her look silently for a few moments before he motioned for them to follow. Harry waited to see what his mum was going to do and was thankful when she moved away from the counter to follow the ghost. If his dad wanted them to see him now, it had to be important.

Harry's insides quickly knotted as they headed to the dungeons. He couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened to his dad. Or maybe it had happened to Tobias? He wasn't certain which.

The corridors were largely empty and quiet. In fact, as they rounded the corner near his dad's classroom, he realized that he hadn't seen a single student or professor in the hallway. The Baron walked past the room a moment later, allowing Harry to glance in quickly and find it empty as well.

By his estimate, his dad still had forty minutes left of class. It was rare that his dad would let the class out early unless there was a potions accident. However, upon the brief inspection, Harry found the Potions classroom spotless. So, then, why had his dad dismissed class?

At the sight of the Baron stopping in front of Salazar's portrait, Harry's frown deepened. What was going on? He watched the portrait swing open to allow them inside, following his mum in. His confusion became even worse when he saw Tobias standing in the sitting room with a bag.

"Are you going somewhere?" Harry asked the older man quietly.

Harry's dad, however, stepped into the room a millisecond later and quickly cut Tobias off. "No. We are, Harry." His dad's black eyes darted to Harry's mum's. "I need both of you to pack anything essential. We're leaving tonight."

"What?" Harry opened and closed his mouth several times, but he couldn't form a thought long enough to elaborate. They were leaving Hogwarts? Why?

"Just do it, Harry. Grab anything you might need, and throw it all into your trunk." His dad seemed uncharacteristically rattled for some reason. However, the man clearly wasn't in the mood to supply answers just yet.

Harry did as he was instructed, heading to his room quickly. He brushed aside the question of when his trunk had been brought down to his room and started to pack. His clothes were already in the trunk as was the Invisibility Cloak. Not really sure if he needed them or not, he gathered up a few of his scattered textbooks anyway and stuffed them into the trunk. He grabbed his birth mother's journal and the framed photo of him and his dad from last summer, adding them to the pile to take. He then grabbed his Nimbus and dragged his trunk behind him to the sitting room.

"Do you have everything?"

"I think so." Harry shrugged. It had become a habit while living at the Dursleys to have already packed everything up. Just in case one day he was saved from the wretched hellhole. Harry watched his dad nod before the man glanced towards the back bedroom where Harry guessed his mum was.

After hearing his dad's quiet growl of annoyance, Harry's mum appeared from behind the door. A green-and-silver trunk followed behind her as she approached them. She seemed just as confused as Harry did, which put the young boy at ease somewhat. At least it wasn't only him this time.

"Do you have your journal?"

"I do. It's in my trunk. Why?"

"Do you need anything else? Perhaps from your rooms?"

"Severus . . ." she started to say before she thought better on it. "There's a tapestry in my bedroom hanging on the wall."

"Mokai!" Harry's dad yelled, calling for the house elf. "Go to Aurora's rooms. Retrieve the tapestry from her bedroom wall. Now!" The small creature vanished and then reappeared with the item in hand. His dad quickly grabbed the tapestry and promptly dismissed the elf.

"Severus, what's going on?"

"Dad, what is it?" Harry asked, joining his mum.

"Son, we gotta go," Tobias quietly stated, frowning. "There's no more time left."

"I know," Harry's dad replied, looking grim as he flicked his wand at their trunks to shrink them. He picked up his mini-trunk, now the size of a matchbox, and put into his pocket, instructing them to do the same. His knuckles, Harry noticed, were ivory as his dad tightly held his ebony wand. Something had clearly happened. Or was about to happen maybe, Harry decided.

Harry felt odd, knowing that his now mini-broom and mini-trunk were in his pocket. It didn't feel as if he had either item on him. In fact, if he hadn't seen them put their mini-trunks in their pockets, he'd swear they were all just normally dressed; his dad in his black billowy robes, his mum in her blue robes, he in his Gryffindor robes, and Tobias in his trousers and shirt. Harry watched his dad head for the Floo powder on the mantel and watched him grab a bit from the jar next to his dad's glass award.

They then headed to the fireplace to leave, all four of them squeezing in tight and standing in the temporarily frozen flames. However, just as his dad had thrown down the powder and called out their destination, his mum suddenly reached up and snatched his dad's "Potions Master of the Year" award from the mantel. Harry just barely kept from snickering, feeling the whoosh of the Floo a second later along with an unexpected roar.

Reappearing not long after, they all tumbled out of the connecting fireplace. Harry groaned and slowly pushed himself up. However, before he could get his bearings straight, his dad's hand snatched a hold of his arm. Harry's vision instantly went black as there was a strong tug behind his navel. What was going on? Once more, they reappeared, Harry finding himself in the same position he had been previously on a new surface—a cobblestone street he realized.

"Dad?" the young boy said weakly. His stomach rolled slightly.

"Just breathe through it, son," his dad replied flatly, helping him up and holding the young boy against him. "We have a bit to go yet, I'm afraid, before we can stop." He helped Harry walk, since the boy's legs refused to walk correctly.

"There," Tobias called from Harry's left. "Might help the boy. Walkin' sure ain't gonna help."

"I agree," Harry's dad responded as they came to a stop.

Harry lifted his head slowly, frowning when he saw the taxi. He glanced at his dad and felt himself being passed over to Tobias as they slowly slid in together. Harry's head slumped against the window instantly, seeking the coolness of it to ease his sudden headache. When he felt someone squeeze his hand, he made a soft noise. His eyes slowly moved to his hand to see who it was.

"It's all right, love." His mum, then.

Harry felt warmth seep into his body and closed his eyes. Whatever she was doing, he hoped she didn't stop. It was helping him feel better strangely enough. He didn't know why, but his ears hurt. Was that a result of whatever the hell his dad just used on them? Or was that from the roaring he heard? He rolled his head to the side, smiling faintly when he realized his head was now on his mum's shoulder. He felt warm. He felt safe. He felt loved. But above all else, he felt confused as hell about what was going on around him. He could feel the fatigue pulling him to sleep and didn't fight it.

At the sound of a car door slamming, Harry's head came up suddenly. His eyes darted around wildly. His first thoughts upon waking were that his dad was taking him back to the Dursleys. However, as he became more aware, he knew that couldn't be true. His dad loved him.

"Where are we?" Harry asked softly, still feeling a bit weak from his adventure.

"Home," his dad replied, helping him out of the car. "Think you can walk to the door?"

Harry's eyes followed the short sidewalk to the door before he nodded jerkily. He could make it there. He then glanced to his right, noticing an elderly woman standing in front of a bed of flowers.

"Dad? There's a lady watching us." He heard his dad's soft laugh.

"That's just Mrs. Andrews, son. Come on. Let's go inside." His dad wrapped an arm around him when Harry stumbled. "I owe you and Aurora an explanation after all."

"You're damn right you do," Harry's mum drawled as the family walked into the cottage, the door closing behind them a moment later as the wards raised and blocked out the rest of the world.